


Angelman

by nebuvoid



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Intersex Ryo, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-19 05:09:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14229966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nebuvoid/pseuds/nebuvoid
Summary: A reimagining of the Devilman Manga with a college age cast and - you may have guessed it from the title - Angelman instead of Devilman.





	1. Chapter 1

"And that concludes today's class. Remember to take notes on chapter 4!"

The professor dismissed his students with a nod and began packing his bag. People were mirroring their teacher's actions, some of them already walking down the stairs and out of the lecture hall. Akira zipped up his backpack and got up as well. He tugged at his shorts, which had gotten stuck to his legs. Yuck. 

He joined a couple of his course mates as they exited the room. They chatted arbitarily about their weekend plans as they all walked outside, and into the stiffeling summer heat.

 

"Yo, Akira! Akira Fudo!" 

 

What on earth...

 

Akira turned towards the voice and was greeted with bright blonde hair, glistening in the sunlight. 

Did Ryo really just pop up in a fancy sports car right in front of his college campus out of nowhere? Didn't he say he was staying in Hokkaido for at least another week? They literally had a skype call two days ago, but yeah, of course, his drama queen of a friend had to just suddenly appear unannounced. Why not.

 

Akira rolled his eyes and quickly said goodbye to his course mates before running over to his doofus of a best friend. They hugged jovially. Some people were staring at the ridiculously expensive looking car on the campus grounds. Others walked by completely unperturbed, being used to the Fudo kid being picked up by his filthy rich twink friend.

 

"Ryo, what are you doing here? I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you but like, you couldn't have told me you were coming back to Tokyo earlier?" 

 

Ryo grinned sneakily. "And miss your look of surprise? Where's the fun in that?" 

 

"Idiot."

Akira couldn't help returning the grin. It wasn't like he was mad at Ryo for turning up. It was just the last thing he expected after coming out of his 3pm zoology course. They both entered Ryo's car and Akira instantly sighed in relief. It was so pleasantly cool, a stark contrast to the summer sauna outdoors. Akira leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and just absorbed the nice cold air for a while.

 

"Fuck man, bless your air con. I was already about to melt out there." 

 

Ryo huffed in amusement. "Akira, you're free now right? Come with me."

 

Akira opened one eye and raised an eyebrow along with it. "Come with you? I'm already in your car. Where are we going?"

 

 "A party."

 

"...a party."

 

"That's what I said." 

 

"You didn't actually just come back for a party, did you."

 

"And what if I did?"

 

"Ryo."

 

Ryo rolled his eyes."No Akira, that's not why I returned early. If you must know, the guy that was supposed to hold that speech on Symbiosis, I told you about him remember? Well he disappeared, so the conference was postponed." He shrugged. "I already got the info I needed from my peers, and one of them told me about a party that was being held here for Earth Day so I was like, fuck it, why not, y'know?"

 

Akira pouted in confusion. "Hold up. What do you mean disappeared?"

 

"What are you, a parrot? It's like i said. He just disappeared. There's no trace of him. Poof, gone. He was last seen two days ago when he left the facility and hasn't been seen since."

 

Akira crossed his arms and inclined his head. "...weird." 

The corner of Ryo's mouth twitched upwards. Something about Akira's meager commentary was endearing to him. "Weird indeed."

 

Ryo rolled his window down and lit a cigarette. Some of the stiffling summer heat tried to creep inside instantly, but the AC thankfully kept it at bay.

 

 

"So what was this about a party?" 

 

"Hm? Oh, yes, they call it Party for the Planet. Really, it's just a group of neo hippies that jerk it to green energy using earth day as an excuse to get stoned."

 

Akira huffed in amusement. "So right up your alley then."

Ryo grinned back. "Sure is." He exhaled a cloud of smoke and stubbed his cigarette out in the car's built in ashtray. 

 

He turned the ignition on. 

"Alright then, let's go." 

 

 

\- - -

 

The place was bustling with people - it was a sort of lounging area near a lake, with a pavilion and a deck. Akira took in the view. There were trees and shrubery surrounding the lake boarder, and a grassy clearing in the center. There were various benches covered in patterned blankets, and towels and more blankets on the grass, with pillows on top. Some guests were already lazing around on them, others were dipping their feet in the water by the pier. There was a gathering of people under the pavilion which was decorated with colourful lanterns and strings or fairy lights, sure to be lit once it got dark. The laterns and lights also extended towards some of the trees. A couple guys were in the middle of setting up a grill. Akira could hear some tropical sounding beat playing in the background. 

 

He turned to Ryo who was rummaging in the trunk of his car.

"I've been meaning to ask - why the hell are you wearing a longsleeved jumpsuit in the middle of summer? I don't know how you can stand that." As if to emphasize his point, Akira opened another button on his shirt, exposing the V of his chest. "I'm melting."

 

Ryo closed the trunk and waved a dubious bag around. "Akira, you should know by now I just don't get too hot. I like being cozy."

 

"You're crazy is what you are!" Akira cackled and slapped Ryo's back. Ryo stumbled a bit at the force. He snorted. "Maybe so."

 

Ryo adjusted the sunglasses on his nose and handed Akira another pair. He then led the way to the pavilion, where the host of the party seemed to be, and Akira stumbled to follow him. They reached a shaded area and Akira sighed in relief. He liked summer weather, yes, but the temperature had gotten so stiffling lately, it was too much even for him.

 

"-Oh, and this is my friend Akira. I'm sure you don't mind me bringing him along."

Akira brought his attention back to Ryo, who was visibly putting effort into appearing interested in the conversation he had been roped into. Akira laughed internally - Ryo was an all or nothing kind of guy, if he wasn't interested in something or someone, it was difficult for him to pretend otherwise. It never failed to amuse him.

"Yeah man, no worries, it's all cool."

The guy Ryo was talking to, Akira assumed he was the party's host, turned to to him. "Sup dude? I'm Susumu, I organized this party. You also an earth lover, yeah?" He looked like he wouldn't like hearing a 'no'. Not that Akira WASN'T into saving earth and all that, but still.

"Sure." Akira made sure to nod politely. 

"Great! You guys make yourself comfortable then - my man Ryo here was so kind to bring some of the good kush so I'll be with you real quick!" Susumu waved for them to take a seat on one of the blankets.

They each grabbed a beer; Akira let the way to a shaded spot under a tree and Ryo shuffled along behind him.

 

"So...your man Susumu, huh?" Akira grinned cheekily. Ryo rolled his eyes and slumped against the tree truck in a pile of limbs. "Don't even... that guy thinks we're 'the tightest of bros':" Ryo imitated air quotes with his fingers. "Just because our dads sometimes work together. He's annoying but he's a good connection to have. for social events, internal gossip, you know." Ryo's mouth formed a smarmy smile and took a sip from his beer.

 

"Huh." Akira scooted over and leaned against the tree trunk next to Ryo. From this position they had a good view of the party area while still being a bit hidden. People were likely to get wild with summer party fever later on, but for now everyone was just lounging around and greedily absorbing the sun rays, or hiding in the shade like them. They fell into a comfortable silence, occasionally drinking from their beers while they were still nicely chilled. 

Akira felt himself get drowsy. Ryo, ever the attentive one, notice from the corner of his eye.

 

"Tired?"

 

"I pulled an all-nighter to finish my presentation." Akira yawned.

 

Ryo bumped his shoulder. "You can nap if you like. The party won't get going until later anyway." 

 

"Weah-whee?" Akira tried to speak over another yawn. Ryo snickered. "Yes, really. Go on." He motioned for Akira to hand him his can of beer. Akira nodded in thanks, gave it to him, then leaned back more comfortably and closed his eyes.

A tiny smile caressed his lips - Today was a good day. He was getting to relax at a lakeside instead of marinating in his sweat at home, and his best friend was back a week early. Akira started to nod off. The muffled chatter of the other party guests turned into ambient background noise, and he felt himself slide over to lean his head against Ryo's shoulder. Oh well, he was sure Ryo wouldn't mind; Akira was too tired to care right now. Before he knew it, he had drifted off.

 

Of course, no one could've expected that things were about to turn for the absolute worse.

 

 

\- - -

 

 

"...kira. Akira, wake up. It's getting dark."

 

Movement next to him, music and voices in the background. 

Akira struggled to orient himself. This definitely wasn't his bedroom. "Akira?" Ryo's voice. Ohhhh right. It was slowly coming back to him. Ryo came early, they were at some hippie party. 

As he rubbed at his bleary eyes, the music was getting louder, pulling him into alertness.

Akira tried to sit up more and groaned in pain.

 

"Aaah, my neck, shit..." 

 

A snort next to him. "Your punishment for falling asleep on me. I was stuck here with you."

 

Akira looked apologetic while rubbing his aching neck. "Sorry Ryo... but you could've just pushed me off you know? Wouldn't want to keep you from your best bro Susumu." He couldn't quite hide the cheek in his voice. 

"My what?" Ryo huffed and brushed some imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous. I'd prefer your unconscious company over his conscious one any day." He got up and stretched his long limbs.

 

"Oh." Akira scratched his nose idly in embarassment. It was rare to hear something like that from Ryo. He felt oddly pleased at it. He interally shrugged and jumped into a standing position in one swift motion. Nice, the training was paying off. Akira had begun working out around the same time he first volunteered at the local zoo - that took way more physical labour and strength than people thought. Akira shifted his shoulders to get the remaining bits of nap-stiffness out.

 

Ryo handed him his forgotten beer and Akira made a face; he didn't even need to take a drink to know that it was lukewarm at this point. They both strolled over to a gathering of people who were sitting in a circle around a hookah on a big island of towels, some already drunk and swaying. The lanterns and fairy lights had been turned on and added a relaxing, otherworldy ambience to the surroundings. 

 

"Ryo! My man! Glad you finally decided to join us." Ryo smiled politely at Susumu while Akira hid a chuckle behind his hand. They both took a seat on an empty spot. A girl handed Ryo an already lit blunt and he silently took a drag. He puffed the smoke into Akira's face. 

"Want some?" Akira rolled his eyes. At 16 he had been shocked as Ryo dragged him along to his first rave, with underage drinking and half naked stoners. It was his idea of a prank, cackling at Akira's flustered face. But it's as they say, you could get used to pretty much anything. 

Akira carefully grabbed the blunt from between Ryo's dainty fingers, inhaled and blew the smoke into Ryo's stupid pretty face in retaliation. Ryo snorted, amused. Akira stuck his tongue out.

 

Time passed, the sky darkened completely, the fairy lights glowed brighter, adding to the atmosphere. Someone was grilling something, Akira could smell it. By now everyone was intoxicated in one way or another, giggly mood spreading among them, cackling over everything and anything.

 

"-and then she said," One of the guys spoke up, imitating a feminine voice. " 'Oh, isn't this just the coziest little spot!', y'know, while sitting ass first in a big patch of stinging nettles." Everyone burst into a new wave of laughter. Even Ryo was snickering along, by now too relaxed to act aloof towards all these people that weren't Akira.

Akira made eye contact with Ryo and they grinned at each other. This was nice. He nudged Ryo's shoulder with his head and Ryo giggled. He was about to pull Ryo into a hug, why he wasn't sure, he just felt like it, thinking was too hard right now anyway, when there was a loud crash echoing over the lake's surface.

 

Everyone looked towards the pier, but it was too dark even with all the lanterns and fairy lights on. Nothing else happened, and most were about to shrug it off, but a clearly terrified screech ripped everyone out of their stupor. 

 

"The fuck was that?" Susumu wobbled up and frowned. Several of his friends joined him, some struggling to stand up. Akira helped Ryo get up and they made their way to the pier. Another scream, a weird squelching sound. 

"What the-" Ryo squinted. "Am I hallucinating? Because I see the fucking blue lagoon monster." Ryo turned to Susumu, probably to ask what the hell he put in that joint if not his weed, but more screams, now coming from the opposite direction, interrupted his actions.

 

"Fuck, what's going on man? Is this a prank?" One of the girls pushed Susumu, clearly freaked out. 

 

"Yeah dude, I thought a good spook would be perfect for earth day. No, you clown, I have no idea what the shit's going on." Susumu took a deep breath in. "I'm gonna go find it out. I think I heard my girlfriend scream just now, fuck." He scrambled towards the lake, and everyone watched in horror as a tentacle snapped out of the water's dark surface and grabbed Susumu by the neck, snapping it like it was nothing. His body was dragged into the depths of the lake.

 

"HOLY SHIT!" "WHAT!" "OH GOD OH GOD!" Fear and terror filled the once relaxing lounge area. One of the guys on the towels began twitching violently, moaning and groaning while doing so. His face bulged and split in two, revealing a hideous monster underneath. People ran into different directions, panicked and flailing like headless chickens. Screams filled the air and made it taste heavy and opressive.

 

Ryo and Akira exchanged a quick terrified glance - the shock of the situation had sobered them both right up, their faces pale and eyes wide. Before Akira could decide on where to run to, Ryo grabbed him by the hand and dragged him along in a frenzied run, the monster they left behind snarling in the distance. Akira struggled to keep up with Ryo's longer legs. 

 

"Where are you running?!" He yelled over the cacaphony of sound; music, screams and monsterous roars mixing together. Ryo didn't turn back, just quickened his pace. "I don't know, I don't know, away from here!" He was breathing heavily. They both were. Akira tried to suck more air into his lungs. 

 

More chaos. Party guest being speared and gored left and right like shashlik skewers. Akira felt the sweat drip off his forehead like raindrops. 

 

"Come on!" Ryo tugged at his hand. They had reached the pavilion. Ah. Ryo had instinctively seeked out a corner to hide in. He had always been like that, bless his heart. But wait, no, now wasn't the time for that. A corner meant a dead end. And them ending up dead for sure.

 

They took a couple seconds to catch their breaths. Ryo seemed to snap out of it and realized he made a big mistake, Akira could see it in his face. "Fuck, Akira, fuck!" He snagged Akira by the wrist this time. "I wasn't thinking! Fuck! We have to get to the car!" 

And they were running once more. Akira was terrified, they both clearly were - so when he stumbled and fell, and saw that he had tripped over a chewed-on limb, Akira's body locked up in fear. His whole body was trembling, and he scrambled backwards trying in vain to get up. 

"AKIRA!" 

Akira watched in horror as a bloodied tentacle attached to some horrid monster amalgamation slithered his way. He wanted to get away, desperately so, but like a deer in the headlights he couldn't move. The tentacle grabbed him by the leg and dragged him across the grass. 

"NO!" Ryo had almost reached him, though Akira didn't know what he was trying to accomplish at his point. He was clearly a goner, Ryo should try to save himself! He wanted to yell, but his voice was stuck in his throat, locked tight just like his muscles.

 The monster lifted Akira to its giant mouth filled with many many sharp teeth. Akira couldn't think. He scrunched his eyes together, hoping that it would be over quickly at least. 

 

Suddenly a blinding light appeared that he noticed even through his closed lids. And then he groaned as he thudded onto the ground, suddenly released from the slimy tentacles' grip. Akira fearfully opened his eyes, blinked at the light, shaded his face with a hand and tried to make out where it was coming from.

 

He saw... wings. Many wings, on the back of a naked person. They were standing in front of him, their body giving of what could only be described as a holy glow. That person seemed to have powers Akira couldn't even fathom. He watched them zap light beam after light beam at the remains of the monster that had attacked Akira. When they were satisfied with their work, they turned to face Akira.

 

"Wh-, Ryo?!"

 

Akira gawked. Like today wasn't wild enough, his best friend was standing there, in the nude, glowing and with numerous wings sprouting from his body. Ryo had always been gorgeous, anyone could tell you that, but now he looked ethereal, making Akira's head spin. 

Ryo kneeled down, worry clear in his face. He checked him over for injuries, patting his body gently. His hands left a faint warmth on Akira's skin. Akira hesitantly held onto Ryo's hand on his cheek. He tried in vain to sort his thoughts.

 

"Ryo, what is..." He trailed off, not sure what to say. Or where to look for that matter. Ryo was still very much naked. 

 

"Woah!" Out of nowhere Ryo stood up and pulled Akira along with him. The wings on his head twitched slightly. "There's more of those monsters coming, I can sense it. I think I can kill them. No, I know I can."  

 Ryo's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry Akira, but I'll have to take you with me - I don't want to risk you being attacked when I'm not here." 

 

This was crazy, all of it. Akira wheezed out a weak laugh. What else was there to do?

"I have no idea what's happening..." He shooked his head in morbid myrth. "But even if you got super powers now, I don't want you to face any freakish monsters on your own." 

 

Ryo blinked his long eyelashes at him and gave him a grateful smile. He seemed to glow even brighter now. "Thanks." 

 

God he was pretty.

 

Akira felt heat rush to his cheeks. "Ryo, uh... before we go... um..." Akira's eyes skittered from Ryo's face to his chest and back. Then again.

Ryo noticed and raised his eyebrows. "What?" He looked down his body. "WHAT THE SHIT?" His wings fluttered in distress as he tried to cover himself with his hands. "Where are my clothes?! My jumpsuit?! That was my favourite one, damnit!" 

Akira shrugged helplessly. "No idea, I was kinda busy almost being eaten." He politely looked to the side as Ryo moved his wings to cover himself up for the time being.

 

"Okay, you can look now." Ryo huffed. The flush on his face was very, very visible on his pale skin. Pretty. 

He had used a pair of wings to cover his chest up, and another pair for his crotch. The wings on his head were curled inwards towards his face.

 

"Alright, let's get this over with." Ryo huffed and made for Akira to join him. 

 

It was kind of like a casual night stroll. Except Ryo occasionally raised his hand to zap a light beam at a monster, of course. When they reached the party area, they were greeted with various guts and limbs decorating the place. Akira bit his lip. He wondered if any of the others survived. He hoped so, maybe some of them managed to run away. 

 

"Well, that was...something." Ryo faced Akira. "I'm so sorry this happened. I just wanted to have a fun night with you."

 

Akira almost shat his pants, sure, but it's not like Ryo intended for this to happen. "It's not your fault. No one could've known this would happen." 

 

 "...I don't want to be here anymore."

"Me neither."

 

They made their way back to Ryo's car, which was thankfully unharmed. But when he tried to enter it he got stuck. "Ah, shit." 

Akira snickered. "Maybe change back to normal Ryo, huh?"

 

Ryo stepped away from the car and... just stood there. He wiggled his shoulders a bit, scrunched his eyes together. Nothing.  

"...you don't know how to shift back do you?"

 

"Hah." Ryo grinned in a self-depreciating manner and laughed. "Maybe I'm stuck like this. Fuck me, I guess."

 

Akira rubbed at his temples. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"...yeah. Akira, can you grab my- wait, my keys were in my jumpsuit. We couldn't drive either fucking way, my keys are fucking gone. Ugh!"

 

He stomped his food like a child and sighed. "Fuck it." He opened his arms wide. "Hop on then."

 

Akira closed the car door and walked to where Ryo stood. "...hop on what." 

 

"On me, of course."

 

"Hop on you."

 

"Akira."

 

Ryo unfolded all of his wings and stretched them wide. "I am clearly capable of flying. Come here so I can carry you." 

 

 This was ridiculous. All of it. Akira scrubbed at his face and locked his eyes firmly on Ryo so they wouldn't run astray. "Fuck it, sure, take me away Angelman."

"That my name now?" Ryo pulled Akira into a princess carry and rearranged his arms around his neck. For fuck's sake, Akira could feel his boobs. He burried his face firmly in the crook of Ryo's neck and tried to think of the demon guts he saw.

 

"Yeah, that's your superhero name now."

 

Ryo snorted and moved his wings. "Sure, alright then, Angelman it is."

He flew off, into the night sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was a beautiful clear night. There were no clouds in sight, and at their current height they could see the stars despite the light pollution below. The temperature had cooled down from the day's stiffeling heat, and this high up there was a cool breeze caressing the air. Truly a perfect night. 

Akira told himself that as he and Ryo circled Ryo's apartment building at a leasurely pace for the umpteenth time, him being carried in Ryo's arms.

 

"Akira, can I please land now? I'm really not liking the wind against my naked ass." Ryo scrunched his face up in discomfort. 

 

"Ahaha... I'd rather not." Akira laughed nervously. "What if someone sees us? Or there's more monsters down there? We're safe here. This is nice." 

 

"I want to land Akira."

 

"5 more minutes?"

 

"NOW Akira."

 

Akira huffed and made a face but nodded. Ryo squeezed him in thanks and made his careful descend onto his apartment building's rooftop. Once there he gingerly placed Akira on the ground and fluttered his wings back into the right spots to cover himself up. He really wasn't used to this whole nudity thing, Ryo usually prefered to cover himself in layers, not have his dick hang out all willy nilly. He'd have to figure out a way to dress himself even with his wings out... but for now they needed to get inside. 

Akira stepped aside, freeing the way towards the locked rooftop door that led to the staircase. Ryo concentrated, envisioned the lock, and though he didn't know how he was doing it, he knew he could unlock it. He snapped his fingers, and the door sprang open. 

 

"Huh, that really worked." 

 

Akira fidgeted on the spot. "What would you have done if it hadn't worked?"

 

"Blow the door up."

 

"No! Ryo you can't do that!"

 

"Blow my apartment's window up then."

 

"You can't do that either!" 

 

Ryo shook his head. "You're no fun. Now calm down, the door is open and nothing is blown up, see?" He pushed Akira from the back, leading him towards the staircase. "Now shush, no one should be up at this hour but you never know." He made to follow Akira, but then he could stuck in the door. Damn wings. Akira's shoulders shook in silent laughter. Ryo gave him the finger and shuffled his way sideways inside.

They silently made their way down the stairs until they reached Ryo's floor. When they were in that floor's hallway, Ryo snapped his fingers once more to open his apartment's door. Damnit, he was gonna have to have all his keys replaced. And possibly have his door's lock renewed, he might have broken it with his magic trick, he wasn't sure. His brain was too fried by what happened for now though, so he ushered Akira inside, then shuffled sideways after him and made a bee line to his bed, letting himself fall onto it gracelessly. A couple of feathers fluttered around him.

 

Akira took his time closing the door. It was mocking him for his attempts, at it kept jumping open, its lock mechanism having been busted my Ryo's little trick. Akira huffed and got the next best thing from inside, a pile of books, and dropped them next to the door, keeping it shut. Surely Ryo wouldn't mind. Akira took his shoes off, placed them neatly on the shoerack and made his way to Ryo's bedroom. He peeked inside, holding onto the doorframe.

 

"You okay in there?" 

 

Ryo grumbled from his face down position. His wings glistened beautifully in the ceiling light - now that they were out of mortal danger (hopefully), Akira took his time to really take the sight in. He tip toed inside and kneeled next to the bed. His hand hovered for a moment, and then he carefully placed his flat palm on top of the upper right back wing. Ryo's headwings twitched and Akira instantly shrunk back again. "Sorry, sorry!" 

Ryo turned his head to the side to face Akira, his expression unreadable. "No, you're fine. You can touch them."

Akira chuckled nervously and nodded several times. Ryo huffed in amusement and watched with interest as Akira got closer again. He wasn't ready to really think about what happened this night so watching Akira's cute face was a fantastic diversion. He saw Akira's eyes widen slightly, seemingly intrigued by how soft and smooth his feathers were. Ryo didn't feel the touch on his feathers of course, he wouldn't feel someone touch the tips of his hair after all, but he did notice when Akira traced his wing upwards with the tip of his index finger, reaching the wing's appendage. 

 

Ryo's headwings twitched again, but before Akira could say anything Ryo urged him on. "Go on. I'm just not used to it. Obviously." He got Akira's typical nervous 'ehehe' as a reply. Ryo felt his heart warm. As Akira traced his wings some more, patting them gently, letting his hands glide over their smooth surface, Ryo felt himself relax and get drowsy, the tension finally starting to drain from his tense shoulders. He closed his eyes, just to rest for a bit, just... and then he fell asleep. 

 

When he came to again, a streak of sunlight was blinding him smack in the eyes. Ryo mumbled in distaste and tried to turn on his side, but stopped when he felt that wasn't really happening. There was some sort of residence. Ryo shielded his face against the harsh light with his forearm and tried to fall asleep again. 

And then he remembered the previous night and jumped upwards, his wings spreading automatically at his distress. He almost toppled over but managed to catch his balance in time. Ryo rubbed his face, exhausted. "So that wasn't a dream... fuck." 

 

Well that just meant he needed to figure out how to proceed. He'd need to discuss everything he and Akira saw at the party, and then he'd go from there... Ryo looked down at his very very nude body. But first he had to figure out a way to get dressed. He got up and held his wings as close to his body as he could - his room was on the smaller side and he really didn't want to topple things over with his admitedly pretty, but very inconvenient wings. 

 

Ryo walked to his closet and and fished out a new pair of underwear and a pair of bell bottoms pants wide enough to encompass his ankle wings. There, that was one problem solved. Now how to cover his chest up... what he needed was an open-back shirt of sorts, but he didn't have that. If he wasn't going to shift back anytime soon... he didn't want to think about it, he only let his thoughts stray as far as where he would order some new clothes to accomodate his wings. An opportunity to try out new fashions, yes. 

A humourless chuckle escaped his lips. If monsters were appearing and gobbling people up like pre-lunch snacks, having his tits out was the least of his problems. Ryo walked into his apartment's modest hallway, towards the coat hanger he had refunctioned as a scarf and shawl hanger. He picked his favourite one, a green and blue striped cotton one, and wrapped it around his chest, tying it up in the front. There, better. However he still disliked how naked his usually covered up shoulders and arms felt, so he took another shawl, this time made of thinner, slightly see-through material, and tied it around his neck like a half-arsed poncho. 

Ryo looked in the mirror and snorted. He looked ridiculous. Then he spread his wings and shifted to get a better view of them. He nooded his head in approval. They may be causing him problems for now, but no one could deny how they added to his natural beauty. And due to his newfound status as... Angelman... Ryo could save Akira so really, he was fine with the situation. 

 

Speaking of Akira, where was he? He suddenly had a terrible intrusive thought - what if Akira left because he thought Ryo was a freak? Or he went to call the police? Or the zoo? But no, that's obscene, his Akira would never do that... Ryo paced his living room in thought. What if though, what if Akira was scared of him now? Or disgusted? He shook his head, annoyed with his own illogical thoughts. No, Akira seemed intrigued, even in awe with his wings the previous night. This was ridiculous. 

 

His apartment door opened, loudly, as the sound of the pile of books in front of it toppling over echoed through his small home. Ryo's wings fluffed up in alarm. 

 

"Woah, woah, it's just me Ryo! Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Akira rubbed his neck and made an apologetic face. "I see you found a way to dress yourself. Good- ah, just hold on a sec-" Akira dropped the plastic bag he had been carrying and piled the books back up to close the apartment door. He toed his shoes off and joined Ryo, who was still standing awkwardly around, in the living room. 

 

"You okay there?" Akira stepped close and put his hands on Ryo's shoulders. He had to tip his head a bit upwards to look Ryo in the eye. Ryo felt instantly better. Charmed even. But he made sure his face gave nothing away. The situation was complicated enough as is. 

 

"I'm fine, don't worry. Just got lost in thought. What's in that bag?" 

 

 "Oh, this?" Akira stepped away to get the plastic bag. Ryo felt relieved and disappointed all at once. Akira sat on the cushion next to the low living room table and motioned for Ryo do to the same. Akira placed the bag on top of the table and unpacked it. He pulled out a big bag of rice, vegetables, and other ingredients. "I wanted to make some food as a thank you for yesterday, but then I saw how empty your fridge was." Akira gave him a disapproving look. "I told you, you cant just eat takeout, it's not healthy! A balanced diet is-" "-important for a balanced life, yeah, yeah, I know." Ryo's eyes gleamed with mirth. 

Akira rolled his eyes. "If you know what I'm gonna say, why are you still just eating takeout? I saw the mountain of pizza cartons, y'know."

Ryo crossed his arms, feeling defensive and pouting. "Well Mr Workout, not everyone has the time to cook a homemade meal every day." 

 

"Just admit that you're too lazy."

 

"I just have my priorities organized in a unique manner."

 

"Well reorganize them then." 

 

Ryo groaned in annoyance. "Listen, I appreciate your caring, I really do, but I won't cook something even if you fill my fridge with ingredients. Even if I tried, I'd probably set the kitchen on fire, you know mother never taught me how to cook."

 

Akira's expression softened. "I know. That's why I'm going to cook some meals in advance for you - you can't really order takeout right now, I don't think the delivery guy would turn a blind eye to your... dozen? I think it's a dozen. To your dozen wings." Akira pointed at Ryo, as if Ryo could forget he had them. "You gotta lay low for now, so I figured I'd help."

 

Ryo felt his chest tighten. Akira truly was the best friend he could ask for. He smiled gratefully, then furrowed his brows a bit in confusion when he saw Akira give him a look of...awe?

 

"What is it?" 

 

Akira stumbled a bit over his words, then laughed, a bit flustered. "You just started glowing a bit? Like, your everything is glowing. It's really pretty." 

Ryo felt his cheeks flush at the compliment. "Ah. I...thank you then." He didn't know how to act whenever Akira complimented him; it made him want to swoon like a maiden in love. "Sooo... wanna uh, examine what we know about the shit that went down last night? I feel we should uh, we should talk about that." 

Akira seemed clueless on why Ryo suddenly changed the subject, but didn't push it. "Sure. You'll want to take notes right? I'll get your notepad." He disappeared in Ryo's bedroom for a second and returned with a random notepad and pencil he had grabbed from Ryo's desk. 

 

"Thank you." Ryo pulled the notepad towards himself and twirled the pencil between his fingers. "Okay, so. I didn't notice anything weird when we first arrived at the party - did you?" 

Akira gated upwards in thought. "Hm... nothing weird beside your man-" Akira snickered, then interrupted himself with a gasp, followed by a bitter expression. "He's... dead now... they all are..."

 

Ryo leaned across the table to put his hand on Akira's shoulder, his wrist wing fluttering with the motion. "It's horrible, I know, but let's try to focus on things objectively for now." He rubbed Akira's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "I'm sorry you had to see that, I really am." 

Akira took a deep breath in and forced himself to relax on his exhale. "No you're right, we should just. Gather the facts for now." He gripped Ryo's hand on his shoulder in thanks. Ryo nodded in understanding and leaned back again.

 

"I'm pretty sure we all only noticed when everyone else in the group did right? When we heard that first scream."

Ryo scribbled some messy notes down and hummed. "I do believe so, yes. Those things attacked the people that were more scattered around the area first. Oh! But also, that one guy that sat with us, he turned into a monster, remember that?"

 

Akira made a grimace. "Wish I didn't. That was so gross." He shook himself, as if to get the disgust off of himself. "His face just kinda... split and that thing burst out of it." 

Ryo tapped his pencil against the table. "So it could be that the monsters come from inside people. This isn't enough information to draw any conclusions though. They might as well infect people, but also exist as entities on their own..." He wrote this down. "I saw at least five different monsters around. They all looked completely different from each other."

 

Akira's face had turned serious, anxiety pushed aside for the time being. "Yeah, me too. And the one that tried to eat me, it looked like... like someone took different animal parts and just, just smushed them together."

 

Ryo nodded and wrote more chicken scratch notes. He sighed. "Well this is it for now. I think I'm going to go back to the party spot tonight, see what evidence I can find."

 

Akira made a comically scandalized face. "You want to go back there?! What if there's more of those things!" 

Ryo spread his headwings and waved them around. "It's not like I can't beat them. You saw me kill like ten of them, I'll be fine." 

 

Akira huffed. "And that's another thing. I'm grateful that you saved my life, and those superpowers you have now are-" He couldn't surpress a giddy grin here. "-super cool, they are, but shouldn't we also try to find out where they came from?" Akira leaned in and poked Ryo's nose. "Don't ignore this part just because it's a Ryo-issue."

 

"Well maybe I don't want to deal with Ryo-issues."

 

"Ryo."

 

Ryo sighed and added some more notes to the paper. "There. I'll do some deep web research on monsters AND on angel superpowers, happy?"

Akira looked pleased. "Yup, happy." But then he frowned in thought. "Wait a second. I can't just let you go back there on your own. Superpowers or not, I won't let me best friend go into hell on his own."

 

Ryo felt moved, but made sure to externally smirk. "Didn't you just act all panicked when I mentioned going back to the lake?" 

Akira kicked Ryo's shin under the table. "Don't be an ass. Yes, to tell the truth I'm scared. We almost died. Other people DID die, right in front of us. They were ripped to bits..." Akira shivered and hugged himself. He then looked up, determined, despite his obvious fear. "But I'd rather be scared to death with you, than watch you suffer as you deal with this on your own." 

 

Hearing that, Ryo couldn't keep up his aloof facade anymore. He felt himself tear up, and his lip quivered. "Akira..." 

"Hey, it's gonna be okay Ryo, you're not alone with this okay? You're my best friend." Akira shuffled over to Ryo on his knees and reached over for a hug. He made sure to pat Ryo's back, or rather, all the wings on Ryo's back, gingerly, since he wasn't sure how much pressure was okay on them. Ryo returned the hug, mumbling a sincere "Thank you." into Akira's shoulder. 

 

 

\- - -

 

 

Meanwhile, somewhere very different, a cackle rang, not joyful, but instead malicious in nature. "This fool, oh my. Let's have some fun with this shall we?"

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
